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And she feels that she has proved herself a worthy successor to the late Gerry Ryan, having to step into his shoes to host the popular show after his death on April 30, 2010.

Asked if she felt she has now proved herself, the 32-year-old replied: "I think so. I was allowed to put my own stamp on the show and the production team knew that was what I wanted to do and they were very willing and open for me doing that."

This year's hit show saw team leaders Killian Byrne, Natalie Cox, Kayleigh Yeoman, Adrian Brereton and Grace Batterberry shed 11st 6lb between them over the course of just eight weeks.

Inspired

And Kathryn admitted that working on the show, which pulled in 621,000 viewers last week, has inspired her to adhere to a healthy lifestyle.

She will be seen by viewers getting teary eyed this evening as the contestants will reveal how all their hard work has paid off as they take to the catwalk after a radical makeover.

"I'm just so proud of them. They've done brilliantly and it's just phenomenal weight-loss and to have reached their targets a week early, it was a big deal for them," she said.

"They should be so proud of themselves and the fact that they've inspired communities in a way that hasn't really happened before on the show. To get the whole country talking and behind them is brilliant."

The hard-working presenter will now have just one week off before she starts working again on the Voice of Ireland, with the live programmes starting on March 4.

Operation Transformation - the finale will be shown this evening on RTE One at 8pm